Televisa held a national competition with three televised qualifying rounds, a playoff, a semi-final, and a final to select its entry for the
15th edition of the
OTI Festival. This fifteenth edition of the National OTI Festival featured twenty-one songs in the qualifying rounds, twelve in the semi-final, and six in the final. In addition to the general competition, awards were given for Best Male Performer, Best Female Performer, Best Musical Arrangement, Breakout Male Artist, and Breakout Female Artist among all the competing artists. The qualifying rounds were held at Studio 2 of
Televisa San Ángel in
Mexico City, while the semi-final and the final were held at
Teatro Degollado in
Guadalajara, all presented by
Raúl Velasco, and broadcast on . The musical director was , who conducted the orchestra when required.
Qualifying rounds The three qualifying rounds were held on Saturdays 6, 13, and 20 September 1986. Each round featured seven entries, of which the three highest-scoring advanced to the semi-final. In each round, after all the competing entries were performed, each of the eight jurors cast one vote for each of their three favorite entries.
Playoff The playoff was held on Saturday 20 September 1986 following the third qualifying round. To select the last three semi-finalists, each of the eight jurors cast one vote for each of their three favorite entries among the twelve not qualified.
Semi-final The semi-final was held on Saturday 4 October 1986. After all the competing entries were performed, each of the ten jurors cast one vote for each of their six favorite entries, and the six most voted songs went on to the final.
Final The six-song final was held on Sunday 5 October 1986. The show featured a guest performance by
Camilo Sesto. The final was held in two rounds. In the first round, each of the ten jurors cast one vote for each of their three favorite entries, and the three most voted songs went on to the superfinal. In the superfinal, each juror announced aloud one vote for their favourite entry. The ten jurors were: ,
Pati Chapoy,
Eugenia León, Ramón Márquez, Rafael Martínez Amador,
Lupe Mejía, Leopoldo Meraz,
José Luis Perales, Eduardo Salas, and Guillermo Vázquez. The winner was "", written and performed by Sylvia Tapia under her stage name
Prisma; with "", written by
Jorge Muñiz and performed by
María del Sol and Jorge Muñiz, placing second; and "", written by Alfredo Díaz Ordaz and performed by
Manuel Mijares, placing third. The festival ended with a reprise of the winning entry.
Merit awards In the final, the jurors voted for the Best Male and Female Performer, Best Musical Arrangement, and Breakout Male and Female Artist among the three shortlisted artist in each category.
Víctor Yturbe received the Best Male Performer Award;
Rocío Banquells the Best Female Performer Award; Julio Jaramillo the Best Musical Arrangement Award for ""; and
Manuel Mijares the Breakout Male Artist Award.
Official album Las 12 finalistas del Festival OTI 86 is the official compilation album of the fifteenth edition of the Mexican National OTI Festival, released by Melody in 1986. The vinyl LP features the studio version of the twelve songs qualified for the semi-final. == At the OTI Festival ==